March 31, 2009

NEWARK, Ohio – Authorities in Ohio say a man has been charged with drunken driving after crashing his motorized bar stool.

Police in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries on March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower.

Twenty-eight-year Kile Wygle was hospitalized for minor injuries. Police say he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after he told an officer at the hospital that he had consumed 15 beers. Wygle told police his motorized bar stool can go up to 38 mph.

I'm beginning to seriously wonder what happened to common sense. Where did all this garbage come from? What makes people believe in these ghost stories and fairy tales? What makes a rational person believe in resurrection, devils, gods, spirits, angels, and the like? When did it become acceptable to put your own tinfoil-hat shit-house-rat-crazy beliefs above the health of your own child?

I won't be around for it, but it will REALLY be a much nicer world when we all finally outgrow this religious nonsense in another thousand years or so. That is, if religion doesn't kill us all first.Md. mom's starvation plea pegged to resurrection

By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Writer

BALTIMORE – Prosecutors agreed to some unusual terms to win a guilty plea from a former religious cult member charged with starving her 1-year-old son to death: If the child is resurrected, her plea will be withdrawn.

RiaRamkissoon, 22, also agreed Monday to testify against four other members of the now-defunct religious group known as 1 Mind Ministries. All four are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Javon Thompson, whose body was kept in a suitcase packed with mothballs and fabric softener sheets long after he died.

Ramkissoon's lawyer said the resurrection clause Ramkissoon insisted on shows that she is still "brainwashed" and needs the psychological treatment that is planned as part of her sentencing.According to a statement of facts, the cult members stopped feeding the boy when he refused to say "Amen" after a meal. After Javon died, Ramkissoon sat next to his decomposing body and prayed for his resurrection.

Ramkissoon's attorney, Steven D. Silverman, said Ramkissoon believes the resurrection will occur. She agreed to plead guilty only after prosecutors said they would drop the charges if the child comes back to life, Silverman said.

"This is something that she absolutely insisted upon, and this is indicative of the fact that she is still brainwashed, still a victim of this cult," he said. "Until she's deprogrammed, she's not going to think any differently."

Reiki, an alternative Japanese therapy with a growing band of followers in the west, is "unscientific" and "inappropriate" for use in Catholic institutions, according to America's bishops.Guidelines issued by the committee on doctrine at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops warn healthcare workers and chaplains that the therapy "lacks scientific credibility" and could expose people to "malevolent forces".

The document also claims that for a Catholic to believe in reiki presents "insurmountable problems".

Reiki means "universal life energy" and was developed by the theology professor Dr Mikao Usui at the turn of the 20th century, from Buddhist beliefs and Sanskrit teachings. The client lies on a couch, clothed and relaxing, while the therapist's hands rest lightly on the body in a special sequence. Clients often report heat and tingling sensations.

The church's guidelines state: "A Catholic who puts his or her trust in reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no man's land that is neither faith nor science. Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious feeling and practice in a false direction."

The document goes on to state that since reiki therapy is incompatible with Christian teaching and scientific evidence, "it would be inappropriate" for Catholic institutions, such as healthcare facilities and retreat centres, or people representing the church, such as chaplains, to promote or provide support for it.

"Our government is being run by men and women who believe that the entire human race is condemned because a woman in a mythical garden let a talking snake convince her to take a bite out of a magic apple. We’re in deep shit! ” -- Stephen Van Tuyl

The following is and editorial from the highly respected British medical journal The Lancet.

Excellent straight shooting here from the scientific and medical community.

'The Vatican felt the heat from an unprecedented amount of international condemnation last week after Pope Benedict XVI made an outrageous and wildly inaccurate statement about HIV/AIDS. On his first visit to Africa, the Pope told journalists that the continent's fight against the disease is a problem that "cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms: on the contrary, they increase it".'

'The Catholic Church's ethical opposition to birth control and support of marital fidelity and abstinence in HIV prevention is well known. But, by saying that condoms exacerbate the problem of HIV/AIDS, the Pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on this issue.'

'The international community was quick to condemn the comment. The governments of Germany, France, and Belgium released statements criticising the Pope's views. Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, called the comment "irresponsible and dangerous". UNAIDS, the UN Population Fund, and WHO released an updated position statement on HIV prevention and condoms, which said that "the male latex condom is the single, most efficient, available technology to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV". Amidst the fury, even the Vatican tried to alter the pontiff's wording. On the Holy See's website, the Vatican's head of media, Father Federico Lombari, quoted the Pope as having said that there was a "risk that condoms...might increase the problem".'

'Whether the Pope's error was due to ignorance or a deliberate attempt to manipulate science to support Catholic ideology is unclear. But the comment still stands and the Vatican's attempts to tweak the Pope's words, further tampering with the truth, is not the way forward. When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record. Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide.'

March 24, 2009

Three juvenile Triceratops, a species thought to be solitary, died together in a flood and now have been found in a 66 million-year-old bone bed in Montana, lending more evidence to the idea that teen dinosaurs were gregarious gangsters.Triceratops were ceratopsids, herbivorous dinosaurs that lived until the the very end of the Cretaceous Period. They have been found in enormous bone beds of multiple individuals, but all known Triceratops fossils up to now have been solitary individuals. In fact, Triceratops is one of the best-known of all dinosaurs, with more than 50 total specimens discovered, so it looked pretty certain that they were anti-social and avoided hanging out with their own kind.However, the new discovery of a jumble of at least three juveniles in the famous Hell Creek Formation suggests that the three-horned Triceratops were social, or at least the juveniles were, revealing something about their behavior - a feature that is notoriously hard to discern from fossils.

The Holy See is struggling to contain international anger over the Pope's claim on his first official visit to Africa that Aids "cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems".

The Pope's remarks about condoms, and a recent furore over his lifting of the 20-year excommunication of a British bishop who has questioned the Holocaust, has left him looking isolated and out of touch, prompting calls for a radical shake-up of the way the Holy See delivers its message.

The Pope is isolated and fails to adequately consult his advisers, said a Vatican source with 20 years' knowledge of the Holy See.

"He's out of touch with the real world," the Italian insider said. "On the condom issue, for example, there are priests and bishops in Africa who accept that condoms are a key part of the fight against Aids, and yet the pope adheres to this very conservative line that they encourage promiscuity. The Vatican is far removed from the reality on the ground."Full story here . . .

March 23, 2009

Jody Hill's cult film "The Foot Fist Way" is without a doubt the funniest thing you have never seen. It barely got a theatrical release, but did garner some praise, mainly due to Will Ferrell talking it up every chance he got.

Jody's new film Observe and Report is getting a full theatrical release next month. The trailer is one of the more perfect examples of how to sell a movie I've ever seen. A perfect blend of comedy highlights, along with great music and some fantastic editing.

Much like the cruel and clueless martial-arts instructor in Hill's breakthrough debut feature, "The Foot Fist Way," Ronnie is more complex, and much scarier, than the kind of self-deluding boob auds usually encounter in comedies of this sort. With the invaluable aid of Rogen, who's never been better, Hill sustains an impressive degree of tension between seemingly contradictory elements. In fact, time and again throughout "Observe and Report," it may strike some viewers that, with just a few tweaks of the script, the scenario could have been played straight as a psychological drama in the vein of "Taxi Driver" (even though the ending plays more like "The King of Comedy").

"So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they even end up condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers," - Pope Benedict 03/21/2009

Apparently the pope would like to see Africans turn from witch doctors toChristianity. Yeah, that will help.

This coming from the head of an organization with an "official exorcist" to help cast out.....uhhh.....spirits with threatening powers. Wow.

What's next, a PHD in Astrology? Advanced degree in sorcery? How about a degree in the study of leprechauns?

Creationism is not science. It has nothing to do with science. It is, simply put, the study of fairy tales.

Bill Would Allow Texas School to Grant Master's Degree in Science for Creationism

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 By Nora Zimmett

A Texas legislator is waging a war of biblical proportions against the science and education communities in the Lone Star State as he fights for a bill that would allow a private school that teaches creationism to grant a Master of Science degree in the subject.

State Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) proposed House Bill 2800 when he learned that The Institute for Creation Research (ICR), a private institution that specializes in the education and research of biblical creationism, was not able to receive a certificate of authority from Texas' Higher Education Coordinating Board to grant Master of Science degrees.

Berman's bill would allow private, non-profit educational institutions to be exempt from the board’s authority.

Welcome, intelligent, common sense news from the White House. It's amazing what good ridding ourselves of the previous cluster of dunderheads is bringing. Expanding stem cell research funding, sensible drug enforcement, slowly pulling out of Iraq, etc. Obama is not perfect by a long stretch, but these are policy maneuvers that give some hope.Attorney general signals shift in marijuana policyWASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder signaled a change on medical marijuana policy Wednesday, saying federal agents will target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state law.

That would be a departure from the Bush administration, which targeted medical marijuana dispensaries in California even if they complied with that state's law.

"The policy is to go after those people who violate both federal and state law," Holder said in a question-and-answer session with reporters at the Justice Department.Medical marijuana advocates in California welcomed the news, but said they still worried about the pending cases of those already in court on drug charges.

California law permits the sale of marijuana for medical purposes, though it still is against federal law.Full Story Here.....

March 18, 2009

With thanks to the always great J-Walk Blog....Catholic priest worry about rampant curses in societyReverend Monsignor Thomas Manu, Vicar-General of the Konongo-Mampong Catholic Diocese, has expressed concern about the spate of invocation of curses on people by aggrieved persons.He said such an evil act being perpetuated by people including Christians had negative effects on humanity and it was time efforts were made to discourage people from such practices.Addressing members of the Saint Anthony Catholic Church at Ejisu on the effect of curses, Monsignor Manu attributed the increasing rate of deaths and suffering to the invocation of curses and other evil spirits on people by aggrieved persons including Christians.“Invocation of spirit is even condemned by traditionalists, then how come that Christians of today have started embracing it?” he asked.He said he was surprised at the way even some prominent politicians were using invocation to defend their political statements.Monsignor Manu advised Ghanaians, particularly Christians to put an end to such negative behaviour to make Christianity more attractive to others.

They are right about Jerry Lewis and Woody Allen. They are correct here as well. France is criticizing comments by Pope Benedict that condom use is aggravating the AIDS problem in Africa.A French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Eric Chevallier, said Wednesday that while it is not up to France to pass judgment on church doctrine, it considers such comments a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect life. A Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombari, says the pontiff's comments are in line with the Catholic Church's doctrine, which opposes the use of contraceptives. On Tuesday, the pope said AIDS cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms. He said that condoms only increase the problem. That contradicts the advice of many health officials, who recommend condoms as a way to prevent the spread of HIV, which causes AIDS. About 22 million people are infected with HIV across sub-Saharan Africa, which reported three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide in 2007. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict met with Cameroon's bishops Wednesday and urged them to defend the rights of the poor and the values of the traditional African family. Earlier, he met with Cameroon's President Paul Biya. No details of the talks were released. Pope Benedict will spend three days in Cameroon on his week-long tour of Africa. He travels to Angola on Friday to celebrate Mass and meet with religious leaders.

I'm all for freedom of speech and the like....but this guy is obviously an assclown just looking for attention. If that attention comes in the form of eggs being lobbed at him.....it would seems par for the course. Of course, the fact that he apparently is walking around armed (and apparently crazy) is somewhat disturbing.

Corek Rankin, a self-proclaimed Nazi, has been seen protesting in several different parts of the county including Dennison, New Philadelphia, and Uhrichsville.

On Monday he had an egg thrown at him, and police departments through out the county have received calls about Rankin's protests.

Dennison police received a call about a concern with Rankin carrying a gun.

News9's James Jackson asked Rankin why he carried a loaded gun with him.

"For my own safety, as I said, people react violently. I refuse to put myself in harms way with out protecting myself," he said.

"It's just not very often you see a Nazi flag displayed. I think it's First Amendment rights, which is fantastic, but it's also potentionallyinflammatory which is why I stopped," a man from Columbus driving past the Tuscarawas County Courthouse during Rankin's protest and commented.

The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil decided that the child's mother acted "under pressure from the doctors" who said the girl would die if she carried the babies to term.Dimas Lara Barbosa, the body's secretary-general, told reporters the mother therefore could not be excommunicated. "We must take the circumstances into consideration," he said.

As for the doctors, there was no clear case that they should be expelled from the church either, he said, contrary to the position taken by Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, who announced the excommunications.

Barbosa said only doctors who "systematically" conduct abortions are thrown out of the church.

Religious ideas are common to all cultures: like language and music, they seem to be part of what it is to be human. Until recently, science has largely shied away from asking why. "It's not that religion is not important," says Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale University, "it's that the taboo nature of the topic has meant there has been little progress."

The origin of religious belief is something of a mystery, but in recent years scientists have started to make suggestions. One leading idea is that religion is an evolutionary adaptation that makes people more likely to survive and pass their genes onto the next generation. In this view, shared religious belief helped our ancestors form tightly knit groups that cooperated in hunting, foraging and childcare, enabling these groups to outcompete others. In this way, the theory goes, religion was selected for by evolution, and eventually permeated every human society (New Scientist, 28 January 2006, p 30)

March 13, 2009

How do they plan to enforce this exactly? Why do we keep coming up with new laws and legislations for drivers? Why isn't eating while driving a crime? Why isn't smoking while driving a crime? What about juggling kittens while driving? Don't we need a law on the books for that! Certainly it is dangerous!

More legisaltion is just silly at this point. If a police officer seens someone driving recklessly (weaving, speeding, crossing the center line) they should just pull them over, asses the situation, and act accordingly. New laws won't change anything. Enforcement of the current ones will.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go jump in the car and pound down some fries, smoke a menthol, make a call, and take the cat to the vet.

From highways to railways, an increasing number of traffic deaths are being blamed on drivers who took their eyes off the road to text. State lawmakers now want to send their own message. Ohio and West Virginia introduced new legislation to help put an end to unnecessary accidents caused by texting.

Something law enforcement loosely refer to as driving while "intexticated,” there is very little officers can do about it. The main reason, there's no law that currently prohibits it in the Ohio Valley. Washington and New Jersey are the only two states that already have bans on texting while driving.

Some proposed ideas for Ohio and West Virginia include prohibiting use of all handheld cellular devices, whether for texting or calling. Until then, officials still agree that the best option is to put away the phone before heading down the road.

And even though it's a, you know, FICTIONAL TELEVISION SHOW.....the church is angry and says "Despite earlier assurances from HBO, it once again blurs the distinction between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the shows fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices,".

Because people are too stupid to know the difference between real Mormons and television Mormons.

Considering the Mormon Church only recently decided it probably shouldn't remain a racist organization (although being a sexist one it's still ok with), believe Joseph Smith Jr. was divine, preach that God was once a man who lived on another planet, believe Jesus hung out with Indians in America, and on and on and on.

Not to mention how they treat family and loved ones who leave the church.

But it's nice to know they are keeping a close eye on a fictional television show on pay per view cable.

Remember - To deny two people the same rights two other people enjoy is discrimination. There is not one single good reason to deny gay couples the right to marry.Experts: Gay Marriage Won't Hurt Kids

Burlington, Vermont - March 9, 2009

Vermont's leading mental health and human service organizations joined in support of gay marriage Monday.

The Vermont Psychological Association, the Vermont Psychiatric Association, the Vermont Association of Mental Health Counselors, and the Vermont chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, all say legalizing gay marriage would help the children of same-sex couples. The group says allowing gay couples to marry validates their relationships, could reduce discrimination and increases benefits for the families.

Opponents have argued that gay marriage is detrimental to children. But mental health experts say studies show that's not true and that opponents are instead misrepresenting studies about divorced parents.

"We felt it was important for us to set the record straight about the scholarly literature in our field and we have lots of different families and the best thing to do for all children is to support parents the best way we can," said Jackie Weinstock, of UVM Human Development & Families Studies.

"It hurts children in the relationships to be part of this new thing," said Craig Benson, who opposes gay marriage. "And yet we are told it's no big deal and it won't make a difference."

The mental health and human service organizations will testify in support of gay marriage next week at the Statehouse.

Nothing funnier than a Christian pointing to another religion and being amazed at how 'wrong' they are. This one is stone cold classic.....and the funniest thing you will read all day.

Q: I’m the pastor of a ministry to international college students. Many of my leaders want to study the Koran to be able to understand Islam. I don’t think this is wise. They’re really fighting me on this issue. I think there are plenty of Christian resources out there to get information on other religions. What do you think?

A: Kelly, it won’t be wrong if somebody studies Islam, but they need guided study, because somebody needs to go along and point out the incredible inconsistencies in that book. And if you have a guided study of the Koran and see how much in there is just repetitious, how much comes out of the Old Testament and the New Testament, how much is just plagiarism from the Bible, etc.?.

If you will go through it with them, I think it would be a very helpful exercise. But I doubt very seriously by reading the Koran they’re going to get converted to Islam. I wouldn’t worry about it. But I think they need to see it. They need to see what is in there. Many people who are Muslim don’t know what the Koran says.And when you begin to tell them, they say, “Well, I don’t believe that.” And you say, “Well, it’s in your sacred book. It’s supposed to be holy words.”

March 10, 2009

Since THIS story seemed to garner such an "interesting" response, I thought I would go ahead and put up some updated information.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil has come forward and spoken out about the ugly decision by the Catholic Church to excommunicate the medical staff and people involved with saving the life of a nine year old rape victim. Good for him.

The Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, said the excommunication would apply to the child's mother and the doctors, but not to the girl because of her age.

But his actions were criticised by President Lula, who said: "As a Christian and a Catholic I deeply regret that a bishop of the Catholic Church has such a conservative attitude.

"The doctors did what had to be done: save the life of a girl nine years old.

"In this case, the medical profession was more right than the Church," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The girl, who lives in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco, was allegedly sexually assaulted over a number of years by her stepfather, possibly since she was six.

The abortion was carried out on Wednesday.

The fact that the girl was pregnant with twins was only discovered after she was taken to hospital in Pernambuco complaining of stomach pains.

Her stepfather was arrested last week, allegedly as he tried to escape to another region of the country.

He is also suspected of abusing the girl's physically handicapped older sister who is now 14.

DEAR BILLY GRAHAM:Why do people get involved in cults? My cousin has gotten involved in one, and no matter what we say to him, he refuses to listen. He says we are the ones who are in the dark, and he alone in our family has found the truth. — S. McM.

DEAR S. McM:One characteristic of cults is that they strongly believe they alone are right in their beliefs and everyone else is wrong. Thus they reject the central truths of the Bible that Christians have held in common for almost 2,000 years and substitute their own beliefs for the clear teaching of Scripture.

Why do people get involved with cults? One reason is because they have a deep spiritual hunger, and, for a time, they think they have found the answer to that hunger.

Ahhh......Billy. Always good for a chuckle. I still remember THIS gem from this supposed loving Christian.....

"A lot of Jews are great friends of mine. They swarm around me and are friendly to me, because they know that I am friendly to Israel and so forth, but they don't know how I really feel about what they're doing to this country, and I have no power and no way to handle them." - Billy Graham to Richard Nixon in a taped conversation in 1972

March 09, 2009

A good reminder as to why "god" or any type of religion in general should be kept OUT of government and the rule of law.

Saudi court sentences 75-year-old woman to lashes

By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 9

CAIRO – A 75-year-old widow in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for mingling with two young men who are not close relatives, drawing new criticism for the kingdom's ultraconservative religious police and judiciary.

The woman's lawyer told The Associated Press on Monday that he would appeal the verdict against Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi. The attorney, Abdel Rahman al-Lahem, said the verdict issued March 3 also demands that Sawadi be deported after serving her sentence.

He said his client, who is not serving her sentence yet, was not speaking with the media, and he declined to provide more details about the case.

The newspaper Al-Watan said the woman met with the two 24-year-old men last April after she asked them to bring her five loaves of bread at her home in al-Chamil, a city north of the capital, Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islam prohibits men and women who are not immediate relatives from mingling. It also bars women from driving, and the playing of music, dancing and many movies also are a concern for hard-liners who believe they violate religious and moral values.

I don't think I could handle it. Just keeps getting better and better.MORE AMERICANS SAY THEY HAVE NO RELIGION

By RACHEL ZOLL

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Between seriously working on getting the troops home, and now THIS.......he's already done more good than the last eight years of inarticulate retardation. But THIS....this is truly important. Furthering science instead of bowing to pressure from fringe whacknut groups and ancient meaningless texts.

I am loving this presidency.

Obama to Restore ‘Science Integrity’ as Part of Stem-Cell ShiftMarch 9 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will reverse the U.S. government’s ban on funding stem-cell research today and pledge to “use sound, scientific practice and evidence, instead of dogma” to guide federal policy, an adviser said.

Harold Varmus, co-chair of a science advisory group to the President, said Obama will ask the White House Office of Science and Technology to create guidelines to incorporate ‘scientific integrity’ into decision-making by U.S. agencies. The action on stem cells, which can grow into any kind of tissue, may help speed research into cures for major illness.

I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world.

AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.

For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.

Thirteen-year-old Lane Dunkley just wanted to go hunting with his grandfather. What he got was a lecture on politics. Dunkley and his father Daniel Reddy, who live in Tulsa, went to Broken Arrow Tuesday night for a hunter safety course normally required to get an Oklahoma hunting license. The class was a reward of sorts. Dunkley, who wants to go hunting with his aging grandfather, was told he could only if he brought his grades up. So he did - to a B-plus average.

But when father and son arrived at the lesson, the volunteer instructor, Kell Wolf, asked if any of the students voted for President Obama.

Reddy, a transplanted Californian - and ex-Marine - raised his hand. According to Reddy and others in the room, Wolf called Obama “the next thing to the Anti-Christ” and ordered Reddy and Dunkley from the room. When Reddy refused, Wolf said he would not teach “liberals” and would cancel the course if Reddy didn’t leave.

March 06, 2009

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned, forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." ~Luke 6:37~

RIO DE JANEIRO — A Roman Catholic archbishop says the abortion of twins carried by a 9-year-old girl who allegedly was raped by her stepfather means excommunication for the girl's mother and her doctors.

Despite the nature of the case, the church had to hold its line against abortion, Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho said in an interview aired Thursday by Globo television.

"The law of God is higher than any human laws," he said. "When a human law — that is, a law enacted by human legislators — is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion have incurred excommunication."

Doctors said the girl was 15 weeks pregnant when the abortion was performed Wednesday in the northeastern city of Recife, where Sobrinho is archbishop. Health officials said the life of the girl — who weighs 80 pounds — was in danger.Full story here......

Hemant Mehta from the website Friendly Atheist went to a “homosexual activism in the public school" workshop by the Illinois Family Institute. His report is a fascinating look into the minds of some seriously twisted individuals.

For example...

The speaker told the crowd that speaking out against homosexuality was not hate speech. Her argument for this? “Homosexual supporters speak out against polygamy and pedophiles all the time. Is that considered hate speech? No. So neither is our anti-gay speech.” Not for the first time that evening, she compared gay people to pedophiles.

Instead of spend their time quietly moving pedophile priests from one Parrish to another, or arranging meetings where men in dresses contemplate why women aren't evolved enough to do their job......the Vatican has decided to tackle an IMPORTANT topic.

I'm pretty sure that Jesus (not that he existed outside of literary fiction) would never stop furrowing his brow at the strange behavior done in his name.

Catholics are urged to give up texting for Lent

ROME (AP) — Roman Catholic bishops in Italy are urging the faithful to go on a high-tech fast for Lent, switching off modern appliances from cars to iPods and abstaining from surfing the Web or text messaging until Easter.

The suggestion goes far beyond no-meat Fridays, giving a modern twist to traditional forms of abstinence in the five-week period Christians set aside for fasting and prayer ahead of Easter.And it shows the Church's increasing focus on technology's uses — with many of the Lenten appeals posted on various dioceses' Web sites.

Dioceses and Catholic groups in Modena, southern Bari and other cities have called for a ban on text messaging every Friday in Lent, which began last week with Ash Wednesday.

March 04, 2009

You have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. We have every local company laying off people right and left. Also broken down roads, bridges, building, and houses. Local delegate Jeff Eldridge thinks its much more important to go after plastic dolls that may make girls feel bad.

What country, exactly, is this assclown living in? Banning a DOLL because HE THINKS it's offensive to some people? Really?

WHEELING, W.Va. -- A proposed ban on Barbie and similar dolls has many people wondering if West Virginia lawmakers are wasting state resources on non-essential items.

Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge of Lincoln County proposed a bill Tuesday to ban sales of the iconic Mattel doll and others like her.

Eldridge said such toys influence girls to place too much importance on physical beauty, at the expense of their intellectual and emotional development.

Many local people said it's a waste of time to be targeting a doll that's been around for 50 years."It's definitely a waste, particularly with the economy the way it is right now. I think they should be spending more time on that and focusing on issues that really mean something," said Michelle Singleton, of Wheeling.

Eldridge isn't the first person to take a stab at Barbie. But, as the 50th anniversary of the popular doll approaches, people say time has shown she's not going anywhere.

Workers at Deluxe Toy & Hobby in Martins Ferry, Ohio, which attracts many customers from West Virginia, said they couldn't believe the details of the ban. Other people said lawmakers should focus on issues like the economy and job creation rather than debate the influence of a toy.

"I think there's more important things for them to worry about," said Jean Wurezbacher, of Valley Grove.

Just caught up with Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut last night. What an amazing, dense, puzzle of a film. Scenes, moments, images, and characters still churning around in my head as I contemplate it all. Possibly one of the most surreal films to come out in a decade.....it out Lynch's David Lynch and then some.

My own interpretation is that Caden IS Ellen. We are seeing a portrayal of Ellen until the real character steps forward (and even directs his/her own death). And this only scratches the surface of the layers in the film. The burning house, the military precense, the tattoos, the psychological labels......

Look closer....

Here is a speech from the latter portion of the film, where the play Caden/Ellen is producing has all but taken over all we are watching....

"Everything is more complicated than you think. You only see a tenth of what is true. There are a million little strings attached to every choice you make. You can destroy your life every time you choose. But maybe you won't know for twenty years! And you may never ever trace it to its source. And you only get one chance to play it out. Just try and figure out your own divorce...

"And they say there's no fate, but there is, it's what you create. And even though the world goes on for eons and eons, you are only here for a fraction of a fraction of a second. Most of your time is spent being dead, or not yet born. But while alive, you wait in vain wasting years for a phone call or a letter or a look from someone or something to make it all right, but it never comes. Or it seems to, but it doesn't really.

"So you spend you time in vague regret or vaguer hope that something good will come along, something to make you feel connected, something to make you feel cherished, something to make you feel loved. And the truth is is, I feel so angry! And the truth is, I feel so...fucking..sad. And the truth is, I've felt so..fucking..hurt for so..fucking..long, and for just as long, I've been pretending I'm okay, just to get along!

"I don't know why. Maybe because...no one wants to hear about my misery...because they have their own. Well...fuck everybody. Amen."